Part of the fun of dynasty leagues is that fantasy football season never ends. Where redraft leagues only run from when you draft your team to the end of that fantasy football season, dynasty leagues run year-round.
Even in the offseason, you can wheel and deal players and draft picks to try and better position yourself for the following year. Since dynasty fantasy football leagues have specific rookie drafts every year, part of the homework for managers in the league is keeping an eye on the college football season to see who is playing well and will be the names to watch in the following spring's NFL Draft.
We know that landing spot is crucial for players, but they also have to have the talent to even make the roster in the first place.
This year, The Sporting News is going to provide way-too-early rookie rankings for 2026 rookie drafts. These rankings will be a combination of how players were viewed ahead of the 2025 college football season, but taking into account how they have recently played.
They are also made under the assumption that Texas quarterback Arch Manning is indeed staying in school next season.
Here is an early look at our 2026 rookie rankings for dynasty fantasy football leagues:
Early 2026 Rookie Rankings for Dynasty Fantasy Football
| Rk | 2026 Prospect Name |
| 1 | Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State |
| 2 | Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame |
| 3 | Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State |
| 4 | Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan |
| 5 | Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State |
| 6 | LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina |
| 7 | Denzel Boston, WR, Washington |
| 8 | Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt |
| 9 | Eric Singleton Jr., WR, Auburn |
| 10 | Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU |
| 11 | Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota |
| 12 | Makai Lemon, WR, USC |
| 13 | Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington |
| 14 | Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia |
| 15 | Drew Allar, QB, Penn State |
| 16 | Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama |
| 17 | Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC |
| 18 | Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU |
| 19 | Nyck Harbor, WR, South Carolina |
| 20 | Jaydn Ott, RB, Oklahoma |
1. Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Of the top 16 leaders in receiving yards from 2024, 14 of them have gone on to the NFL in 2025.
The lone returners to their college programs are Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, who finished with the fourth-most receiving yards last season, and Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson.
The latter was often overshadowed by running back Cam Skattebo in the offense, but he was drafted by the New York Giants, putting all the attention on the returning receiver.
Tyson has started the 2025 campaign right where he left off last season. Through two games, he has brought in 18 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns.
Arizona State has a blend of ranked and unranked teams on its schedule the rest of the way, which should allow Tyson plenty of chances to showcase his stuff and add to his highlight reel on his way to being the first wide receiver off the board at the 2026 NFL Draft and your rookie drafts:
Jordyn Tyson. You are ridiculous! 2026 WR1 pic.twitter.com/RCPfG2iWG6
— Ray G (@RayGQue) August 31, 2025
2. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Love is a junior this year, and is playing his third season for the Fighting Irish. In 2024, he had 163 carries and picked up 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns. Love also added 237 yards and two additional scores through the air.
The Notre Dame RB is listed at 6-foot, 214 lbs. The Fighting Irish didn't play in Week 0 and had an early off week in Week 2. Notre Dame has only played one game at the time of this writing, and it was a 27-24 loss on the road at Miami.
It wasn't a great game for Love, who had just 33 yards on 10 carries and another 26 yards on four receptions. Still, he would have to string together three or four dud games to have him drop down the rookie rankings from the talent he has shown.
MORE: Follow our fantasy football weekly rankings all season.
3. Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State
Nick Singleton was expected to lead the Nittany Lions backfield in 2025, but Kaytron Allen decided to come back to school. Allen led the Penn State backfield in 2024 with 1,108 rushing yards and was second on the team with eight touchdowns.
The Nittany Lions are starting the schedule with three non-conference games. Penn State blew out each of their first two opponents, and Allen picked up the 2025 season where he left off last year. He is currently averaging a whopping 7.8 yards per carry with his 187 yards on 24 carries, and he has scored two touchdowns.
4. Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan
Haynes played the first two years of his college career at Alabama before transferring to Michigan. He wasn't a featured part of the Crimson Tide's offense, and already through two games with the Wolverines already has half his production from his entire 2024 season.
Haynes has 35 carries so far in the 2025 season and has picked up 284 yards with four touchdowns. He is listed at 5-11, 210 lbs. and uses his strength to bowl through the defensive line and try to get into space.
Justice Haynes: Home-Run Threat
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) September 7, 2025
Tends to be a trait that elevates RB prospects in the eyes of NFL teams. He can flip the momentum of a game in an instant.
pic.twitter.com/vIRZwbOWzP
5. Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
Ohio State is slowly turning into WRU. The Buckeyes are known for its top tier talent that it sends to the NFL, but it feels like every season we are wondering who the next Buckeye is that will be heading to the NFL. It started in 2022 when Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were selected with back-to-back picks in the first round. In 2023 it was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2024 and Emeka Egbuka in 2025, all selected in the first round.
While everyone will wait to see how high Jeremiah Smith gets taken in 2027, Carnell Tate is the name to watch for 2026. He has been hidden behind Smith for Ohio State, but has spent his entire college career there. Tate finished the 2024 season with 733 yards and four touchdowns as the WR3 in the offense, and sometimes fifth option if you also include current NFL rookie Quinshon Judkins and Treyveon Henderson, who were running backs last season for Ohio State.
So far in the 2025 season, Tate has 118 yards and two touchdowns threw two games.
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6. LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
Sellers rose to prominence in the second half of his 2024 season. He started slow with the Gamecocks, but then leaned into his true dual-threat abilities and turned heads as he helped his team finish just outside the 2024 College Football Playoff, the best season finish for the school in a decade.
Given Sellers' size, 6-3 and 240 lbs, mixed with his combination of speed and strength, he entered the 2025 season in the Heisman conversation with South Carolina, having the highest expectations for the program since Steve Spurrier was the head coach. So far in the 2025 season, Sellers has led the Gamecocks to a 2-0 record with wins over Virginia Tech and South Carolina State. He has 337 passing yards with two touchdowns, and an additional 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
LANORRIS. SELLERS. STRENGTH. pic.twitter.com/uVn7X3ogpZ
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 31, 2025
7. Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
The redshirt junior has been with the Huskies his entire collegiate career. He finally saw significant action in 2024, and continued that as a focal point of the Washington passing attack to start 2025. Last year, Boston played in 13 games and had 63 receptions for 834 yards with nine touchdowns.
The Huskies have played two games so far, and the wide receiver has a combined 10 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. Next year's rookie wide receiver class is expected to be shallower than the 2025 class, but the 6-4 Boston is definitely a player to familiarize yourself with.
8. Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
Penn State is starting its 2025 season with three straight non-conference game before running its Big Ten conference schedule. The Nittany Lions have blown out Nevada and Florida International so far, and Singleton has been used sparingly to keep him healthy and spry for the gauntlet schedule the rest of the year.
He and Allen form a formidable backfield duo for Penn State. In 2024, Allen had 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns on 220 carries while Singleton had 1,099 yards on 172 carries with 12 scores. The backfield is still split in 2025. Through two games, Allen has been the more productive back with 187 yards and two tuddies on 24 carries. Singleton has 95 yards and three scores on 21 touches.
Can’t stop thinking about Nick Singleton
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) August 2, 2025
At worst he’s a top 3 back in CFB pic.twitter.com/0PekywQyfi
9. Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
There has been a recent push for teams to use more draft capital on tight ends and feature them more prominently in their offense. There will likely be a tight end worth taking at the back end of your rookie drafts' first round; we just don't know for sure yet who it will be. Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers has just as good a chance as anyone else. Stowers is one of the favorite targets for Commodores QB Diego Pavia.
Last season, Stowers had 638 yards and five touchdowns. Through two games, the 6-4 Stowers already has picked up 115 yards and a score on eight receptions.
10. Eric Singleton Jr., WR, Auburn
Singleton began his career at Georgia Tech. He posted back-to-back 700+ receiving yard seasons for the Yellow Jackets, but transferred to Auburn as a junior. In 2024 for Georgia Tech, he had 56 receptions for 754 yards and three touchdowns.
The Tigers acquired a new quarterback in Jackson Arnold and paired him with Singleton. Arnold has leaned on his receiver through Auburn's first two games of the season. Singleton has 84 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions.
11. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
12. Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota
13. Makai Lemon, WR, USC
14. Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington
15. Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
16. Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
17. Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama
18. Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC
19. Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU
20. Nyck Harbor, WR, South Carolina
Early 2026 SuperFlex Dynasty Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Football
1. LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
2. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
3. Jordan Tyson, WR, Arizona State
4. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
5. Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State
6. Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
7. Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan
8. Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
9. Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
10. Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
11. Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
12. Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
13. Eric Singleton Jr., WR, Auburn
14. Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota
15. Makai Lemon, WR, USC
16. Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington
17. Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
18. Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama
19. Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC
20. Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU
2026 Dynasty Rookie Sleepers
Eugene Wilson III, WR, Florida
Wilson has been with the Gators for three seasons. He will look to rely on quarterback DJ Lagway to get him the ball in the Florida offense. The Gators struggled to start the season. Florida notably lost to USF in Week 2, raising concerns for the Gators this year. Luckily, Wilson has looked solid through two games. He leads the team with 12 receptions, tallying 56 yards and two touchdowns.
Wilson stands 5-10 and projects to be a slot receiver at the next level. The Gators have an intense schedule for the rest of the way, and if Wilson can consistently play well against top-tier teams, it will help boost his draft stock come April.
Jamal Haynes, RB, Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets have started the season 2-0 with wins over Colorado and Gardner-Webb. Georgia Tech used to be known for its triple-option offense, but now it tends to be more run-heavy. Haynes has been with the Yellow Jackets for three years. He dominated as a freshman in 2023 and finished with 1,059 yards and seven scores. Haynes took a slight step back last year with 944 yards on the ground, but had nine touchdowns.
Through two games this season, the senior has 157 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. He is listed at 5-9, 190 lbs, so his team at the next level will likely want to get him to either bulk up or for added strength or slim down to try and increase his speed even more. Landing spot will be key for him, but he could be a sneaky name to watch in 2026.
CJ Baxter, RB, Texas
Texas got off to a rough start in 2025. They came into the season ranked No. 1 thanks to Arch Manning finally taking over under center as the starting quarterback. He had a bad game to open the year against Ohio State on the road, but was able to bounce back against San Jose State in Week 2.
As a freshman in 2023, Baxter ran for 659 yards and five touchdowns. He missed the entire 2024 season due to a torn ACL and redshirted. Baxter can do a lot for his draft stock with a strong 2025, and already has 23 carries for 104 yards so far. He won't be a top pick in rookie drafts, but could be a worthwhile stash at the end of the final round.